Sunday,  November 17, 2024
Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost 
Mark 13:1-8 | "All Thrown Down"

Call to Worship (Inspired by 1 Samuel 2:1-10)
One:The Holy One raises up the poor from the dust and lifts the needy to  inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth belong to the Holy One. O on them God has set the world.
Many: Exalt in the Holy One! Find strength in God. God guards the faithful.
One: Wickedness will perish. Righteousness will thunder. For not by might does one prevail. 
Many: Exalt in the Holy One! Find strength in God. God guards the faithful.
One: Worship the Holy One through grief and gladness, in despair and hope, in peace and trial. 
Many: Exalt in the Holy One! Find strength in God. God guards the faithful.

Invocation
Eternal and Everlasting God, our time is finite and precious. Help us to be present in each moment and honor our days. Give us a heart to pursue beauty, glory, and justice for your name’s sake. Reign in our lives and move through our hearts. Open up our spirits to declare your praise, glory, and honor. We seek your face, your voice, and your power in our gathering.  Amen.

Prayer for Transformation and New Life
Redeemer and Liberator, we call upon your power to make all things new. We confess that we have compromised your good news and settled for a comfortable gospel rather than embrace the radical love, hospitality, and inclusion of your kindom. We have been satisfied with a faith that conforms to the world rather than one that challenges the systems and ways of the world. Forgive us for our focus on our own survival and pleasure while your creation perishes all around us. For your mercy and in repentance, we pray.  Amen.

Words of Grace
Beloved, you bear the image of God. You receive power from the Spirit of God. Be encouraged that Holy Love meets you with boldness and renewal. Let God be glorified as you accept the call to be the activating agents of a new world where love reigns, hope endures, and peace abounds.. 

Invitation to Generosity
The generous life nurtures hope, cultivates, peace, and generates love in tangible ways. Let us bring our resources for our common life and for communal good as a reflection of our commitment to the way of Jesus. 

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Dedication
Holy Love, may these gifts and offerings make a difference in this life of the community we love, serve, and reflect. May these gifts and offerings extend beyond the borders and boundaries of the stones that encase us to the world that needs us. May these gifts and offerings be a balm to a world in need of comfort and a fire to a world in need of refining. May it begin within us and flourish beyond us. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen. 

Benediction 
As you go, embrace the good, proclaim the truth, be the good news.  Amen.

All Thrown Down: Service Prayers for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost Year B was written by the Rev. Dr. Cheryl A. Lindsay who serves as Minister for Worship and Theology for the United Church of Christ.